Tomato Soup

Happy New Year! I hope and pray that this Christmas season has brought you closer to Christ. We enjoyed spending time with each other doing a lot of nothing. I think that’s the best time…just being together without the rush of trying to be in a million places at once.

I put out a vote over on Instagram to see what the next recipe should be. Tomato soup was the winner! This recipe is incredibly simple, and it is always delicious. It is also completely appropriate for the snowy weather we are having here in Northern Virginia! I hope you love it.

Tomato Soup

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You will need:

28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 quart of chicken stock (32oz)
1/4 c heavy cream (optional)
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
2 tsp sugar
1-2 tsp salt
1-2 tsp pepper
1 bunch fresh basil, or 1 tsp dried basil

Bring a 4-6qt pot to medium heat. Add the olive oil, butter, onion, salt, and pepper. Saute the onion until it is soft, about 5-10 minutes. Add in the garlic and stir around for 1 minute.

Sprinkle in the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes until it is bubbly. Stir in the tomatoes, sugar, basil, and chicken stock. Cover, and let all of this simmer on low heat for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. I love using fresh basil and typically just put the whole bunch in and let it steep. Also, don’t be thrown off by the sugar. It is necessary to help the tomatoes reach their full potential. It really does add that little something extra that cuts through the acidity and gives it a great taste.

Once it is done cooking, carefully transfer the mixture to a blender (if you used whole basil- make sure to remove it before blending). Blend it until it is smooth. (If you have an immersion blender- go ahead and use it here). Transfer the soup back into the pot. Give it a taste and determine if it needs more salt, more sugar, more pepper, etc. Simmer this on low for an additional 20 minutes uncovered.

From here you can serve it as is. To step it up a notch, you can add in 1/4 c heavy cream to make it velvety smooth (this is my personal favorite). You can also leave it as is and make a soup bar with fixings like heavy cream, cheddar cheese, Parmesan cheese, croutons, chopped onions, ground beef, cut up grilled cheese sandwiches, fresh herbs, etc. It can really be served however you want it.

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